Pool Club Revolution!

I was web surfing the other day and went to a Chess Club website;

North Carolina Chess Association I believe its NCCA.org On it I saw all kinds of Chess Clubs all over the state they had tournaments all over and scholastic involvement.

I think the "Pool Club" is a perfect way to introduce our game to New and Better demographics.

I see this as a way for Room Owners to bring "groups of people" into the Pool Rooms for an activity where they can plan the fun and set the hook on new customers.

It costs nearly nothing all you have to do is invite groups of people in. You can even do this on a schedule like once a month or every so many weeks and have a group of new people that shows up for Pool Club because its fun and they start making friends and you start getting a New Bunch of Regulars to the Room.

You keep it fun by letting people play each other to see who retains the table and you can even divide them up into groups and make partners out of it, if you need to handle a large group of people.

You can designate a time and a number of tables and this even wouldn't interfere with your regular business.

Pool Clubs can lead to new players from different demographics, new players mean new people make new friendships and Pool Club can become a strong organization with legs that make Pool stronger. Local clubs become a way to compete against each other. Local Clubs could one day become the feet and legs of National Trend. I just see a lot of good things coming out of the fact that we need New People coming into pool.

How else are we going to get them unless we invite them?

So what do you think?

Johnnyt said:

You are right, but first we need the like of a NCCA. Org. I wish there was one billiards club in every town. Johnnyt

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I follow you there but I don't think this idea even needs....Billiards Clubs...to work. I think an agreeable Room Owner is all you need. He doesn't even have to do it. He can let someone else run it for him all he has to do invite the people to come down for a few hours and have fun.

The Chess Clubs meet at Restaurants just anywhere that will have them because they eat and play. Well if you invite people and they have fun they might have a drink and some food and this way parents can bring their kids and kids are allowed like this.

No Stress/Fun!

krupa said:

A no-stress avenue of playing regularly might bring more people to the game.

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Exactly, no stress and keep it fun and allow people to play a lot! I think the worst thing you could do to people is double elimination....keep it social and fun....I think that gets them hooked on the game.

Instruction as a part

krupa said:

If it's a small enough group (or enough tables), you could might use a 1-game round robin format.

A lot of bridge clubs also schedule time at the beginning for a lesson in some aspect of the game, then you play some hands specifically built to highlight that lesson, finally you sit down and play the regular "club match."

Clearly this can be applied to a pool club where before you start play, you have small lessons on tangent lines or stop shots or simple strategy etc. Everyone gets to try the shots and then you start in on the games.

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That's a great plan actually for someone who was an Instructor to be the guy who runs the Pool Club. He would be helping the Room Owner with New Customers and creating the Pool from which he gave lessons, that's a pretty good way of making your Pool Club efforts pay off. You give away some lessons and you go more into detail with individual lessons. Sounds like a nice plan.

franko said:

Yes 336 Robin , I think you have a good idea. If someone takes charge and can organize any type of activities I think you could draw people in. I ran two leagues in our room before it closed down and ended up with waiting list for both. People played and practiced that normally would not have. Your idea of having something more casual I think has the potential to draw from a even larger base of people. Fun and light hearted competition just might be what people are looking for.

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Franko,
Thank you for you supportive comments, the idea came to me from reading blog posts and brainstorming why pool wasn't more popular. I started remembering what was fun about pool as a kid. King of the Hill tables were always fun where you had to play hard to keep it. Partners games were fun in that atmosphere and getting to play more is fun. Not to mention the demographic that we attract doesn't seem to do much for the reputation of the sport. I just hope that some room owners will try it because from what Ive heard of personal marketing techniques they have all worked if you throw pool out as bait. You just have to make sure they have fun and nothing is a drudgery. There will always be a place for serious individual competition and some bleacher seats would make people want to gather and watch.

Youve got that right!

Paul Schofield said:

I think for this concept to have some kind of chance, there have to be ready venues available that match the demographic that you are trying to reach (or any venue at all for that matter). How many cities and towns have such a venue?

This is a lot of work. Who signs up to be the point-man?

Sounds like you got your work cut out for you, Robin!

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I think the idea is good and you have a point about the venues need to be acceptable for the demographic which means a nice decent place. From the pictures you've posted of the inside of your places I think you have such a place. Yes I will be the cheerleader and point man for this. I've been searching for a plausible answer the conundrum of how to attract a better demographic to the game and I think that a lot of doors could open if it were to catch on. Now will it? That is something that only time and support will tell. I believe that this idea if properly massaged could really mature into something and I already have ideas on how to do it.

Image this:

You are a guy who loves pool and lets say you want to do this and you think about it, and come up with what you are going to do and you go to a room owner and say this is what I want to do and this is how I see it working, so what do you think?

I mean its advertisement, its practically free using existing things you already have. You just have to package pool so that there is no drudgery, its social, its fun and keep it that way.

I think its going to take people wrapping their minds around it and a few places doing it and reporting back how well it went.

The guy that got me back into pool was the guy who ran our chess club. He was a guy I looked up to a mentor of sorts. I can see guys like that all over the country opening up Pool Clubs and them working because they aren't going to allow someone to screw it up for the other ones. He is going to be a guy who people look up to and I really believe this can work.

Support

jaetee said:

European pool has sanctioned billiards clubs, with multiple levels of stratification... local, regional and national clubs.

Here's a thread where I explain it further, plus some input from some of our European members... http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=343498

I wish we had this type of set up here.

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I think where the Europeans are is where we would like to be but things arent that way in that pool is looked at differently here and that is the first problem. It will be a long time in changing that but it could happen. If you consider how long its been like it is, it might take awhile but nothing is impossible and you have to start somewhere.

Noticeable Change

jaetee said:

I could not agree with you more...

Frankly, I don't think it will happen in our lifetimes.

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Jaetee,
Im so inclined to believe that we could invoke a positive change in a short number of years. Pool has dissapeared from the public eye so a lot of people really dont notice the low dive, underbelly of pool the way they used to.

Something that created a Positive Spin on things right now would enter what I see as Perfect Timing. Just as the ebb of the bad goes out, if the new took hold I think it could be permanent. I would like to see something of an organization to it so when the people who wanted to start Pool Clubs did it, they would be singing off the basic same sheet of music. Thats do able so the rest should be.

jaetee said:

I like your attitude and optimism...

We had friends over tonight and I instigated a friendly little ring game of 9-ball on the home table. During game conversation, and with the topic of pool's future and it's public perception in mind, I asked a friend of mine what the first thing was that popped into her mind if someone were to introduce themselves to her as a "pool player?" She comes from an upper middle class family, is in her late 30's and has a PhD with a background in anthropology. And her boyfriend is a college professor. I was amazed at the simple depth to her answer when she said "I would think that person likes dark places, likes to drink, and probably smokes... or at least doesn't mind cigarette smoke."

I've asked that question of several people and that was one of the first times the answer didn't involve some endearing term for seediness like hustler, gambler, or shark... So, I'll take that as a sign of your being correct! :wink:

If there were national sanctioned pool clubs to join where you had local, regional and national competition levels... I'd be an early and enthusiastic member, supporter.and recruiter.

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Interesting Post Jaetee.

The last line you wrote that I bolded and colored makes me want to clear things up just a bit.

Ive had this Pool Club vision coming at me for some time in bits and pieces and Im all for it but I think it needs a definition of what it is and what it isn't.

What is it in my mind is a way for a proactive Room Owner to put together a way to gain advertisement to attract a better demographic to the pool scene. As you mentioned I want to be able to attract people to the light...not the dark...to the fun. If they make serious players that's totally up to them. I would want this to be something that brings new life into the sport.

I see pool as a very fractured up business with a lot of people or businesses that have to figure out how to stand alone and no one is really helping each other out. I would like to see Pool Club helping out the Room Owners. I see Pool Club as something that gives the Room Owner something back in the way of attracting customers and building local infrastructure business for the Room Owner.

Im going to try and open one possibly several myself, but I also know the Room Owners in my area. Somehow I need to find an angle to make this work for them and if I can talk a few of the locals here to do it and have it work out I think this could be a trend followed by other rooms. We talk a lot here but nothing gets done on the local level and those guys with Pool Rooms wonder exactly what to do.

I want to touch on something now before I get labeled as an anti BCA person. Ive given some thought to this stance. Im not out to replace the BCA. They are a trade organization and they are having struggles of their own Im sure with a flagging industry.

What I want to see is a Grassroots Program that makes sense on the local levels all over the country that pulls new customers and players to the sport and I think this concept has about as much of a chance to do it as anything Ive talked about to pool people for the last several years.

Why should a Room Owner place advertisements when all he has to do is invite people in for some free pool....in groups.....just make sure when they get there that they have a good time by loosly organizing some of their time.

In fact why cant that loose organization and the proliferation of .....FUN...dominate our sport.?

I think it could and I think that this concept goes well with pool. It does not seek to replace the BCA only add to the base of the sport. It does not seek to replace the Pool League System in any way only add to the customer base from which they will draw. It brings in new customers for the Pool Room establishments and it bring new students into the game for the Certified Instructors to instruct. If at a time that this system were organized for the sake of providing local and regional competitions perhaps it should be done for trophies and kept......FUN. Play for pride and play for Fun....what an interesting concept? This concept in my mind leaves room for Professional play where when you get to that level things are a little more serious.

If we are serious about developing into New Demographics we might want to keep things fun from the beginning to the end if its possible. A lot of things have taken profits from the Pool Room owners but this is something that gives them something back. I see that as working in my humble opinion. All it needs is some people brave enough to try it, someone to write some basic SOP's for things to do and not do and some sponsors wouldn't be a bad thing because that could help people get the nerve up to do it.

So instead of waiting for a National Organization to emerge....why cant we just get together and invite some people in to play Pool?

An After School Club....awesome

Zphix said:

I think it's a fantastic idea - especially if you can market it towards teenagers and young adults because they are who will keep this sport alive for future generations.

It's easy to sell pool to people who already love it - but I don't know many teens (except myself of course) who love the game like we AZBers do.

Anyway, I think if you can run a pool club like a chess club then you'll be in great hands. Iiii wonder what pool would be like if middle schools had tables and an after school club...

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Zphix,
An after school club of kids who meet during the week is an awesome idea. I will bet that the room owners would glady give a huge discount on the time if they charged you at all. I see that idea as working. Awesome dude!